Forensic Science: Crime on File #15: Gary Ridgway – The Green River Killer (Killings between 1982 and 1984) “I hate most prostitutes. I did not want to pay them for sex. I also picked prostitutes as victims because they were easy to pick up without being noticed. I knew they would not be reported missing right away, and might never be reported missing.” These were the words of one of the worst slayers in American history, who was said to have killed more women than any other serial killer — Gary Ridgway.
The Green River Killer drama unfolds at Aurora Avenue on the banks of the Green River where hundreds of prostitutes hang around, and where on July 15, 1982 the body of a 16-year-old prostitute was found. She was the first victim of the infamous Green River Killer and was raped and strangled to death. He had the habit of finding a landmark and leaving a group of dead bodies in ‘clusters,” to remember easily. Driving by these clusters and remembering them gave him a high.
The killings continued and police couldn’t find a clue, so the “Green River Taskforce” was formed in 1984. The death toll had reached 26 by then.
Ted Bundy’s Help Another serial killer, Ted Bundy (who was sitting on a death row), offered to assist the police and gave them several clues into the working of a serial killer’s mind until the time he was executed.
Background Ridgway was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and he had two brothers. He had a domineering mother who constantly yelled at their father and controlled Gary completely, and she was never pleased with what he did. Ridgway’s IQ was 80, which signified a slight mental deficiency. He had a troubled adolescence and stabbed a six-year-old kid when he was 16. He always had an obsession with prostitutes.
He was married for fourteen years and he managed two totally different identities: one the life of a wonderful husband going on romantic vacations, and the other of the infamous serial killer.
Killings and Sentence The Green River Killer caused mayhem for two and half years during the 1980s. He pleaded guilty to 48 charges in 2003, but claimed to have killed 71 women. A controversial plea bargain he entered into spared him execution in exchange for helping to locate the remains of all of those women by providing details. This created a lot of controversy as many people believed that a person who murdered so many people should not be spared the death sentence.
He was sentenced to 48 life sentences and is currently incarcerated in Washington at the Washington State Penitentiary.
“I hate most prostitutes. I did not want to pay them for sex. I also picked prostitutes as victims because they were easy to pick up without being noticed. I knew they would not be reported missing right away, and might never be reported missing.” These were the words of one of the worst slayers in American history, who was said to have killed more women than any other serial killer — Gary Ridgway.
The Green River Killer drama unfolds at Aurora Avenue on the banks of the Green River where hundreds of prostitutes hang around, and where on July 15, 1982 the body of a 16-year-old prostitute was found. She was the first victim of the infamous Green River Killer and was raped and strangled to death. He had the habit of finding a landmark and leaving a group of dead bodies in ‘clusters,” to remember easily. Driving by these clusters and remembering them gave him a high.
The killings continued and police couldn’t find a clue, so the “Green River Taskforce” was formed in 1984. The death toll had reached 26 by then.
Ted Bundy’s Help
Another serial killer, Ted Bundy (who was sitting on a death row), offered to assist the police and gave them several clues into the working of a serial killer’s mind until the time he was executed.
Background
Ridgway was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and he had two brothers. He had a domineering mother who constantly yelled at their father and controlled Gary completely, and she was never pleased with what he did. Ridgway’s IQ was 80, which signified a slight mental deficiency. He had a troubled adolescence and stabbed a six-year-old kid when he was 16. He always had an obsession with prostitutes.
He was married for fourteen years and he managed two totally different identities: one the life of a wonderful husband going on romantic vacations, and the other of the infamous serial killer.
Killings and Sentence
The Green River Killer caused mayhem for two and half years during the 1980s. He pleaded guilty to 48 charges in 2003, but claimed to have killed 71 women. A controversial plea bargain he entered into spared him execution in exchange for helping to locate the remains of all of those women by providing details. This created a lot of controversy as many people believed that a person who murdered so many people should not be spared the death sentence.
He was sentenced to 48 life sentences and is currently incarcerated in Washington at the Washington State Penitentiary.